Daryl’s best friend is her diary, named Missy. When her parents get divorced, she confides her feelings to Missy in the form of a poem. In fifty sweet, sad, and hilarious panels, Daryl puts words to her heartbreak as only an eight-year-old can.

Things Go Wrong #1

by Jason Bradshaw

James is a frustrated artist who’s slowly killing himself through self-sabotage and neglect. He is sporadically employed (hack work, not “serious” painting) but spends most of his time alone in his apartment, shin-deep in discarded take-out containers and pizza boxes.

When he comes down with a painful digestive ailment, his doctor prescribes the medication he needs. James must follow a few simple steps to save his own life…but sometimes these things aren’t as simple as they seem.

Both of these books will be available at SPX! If you back my Kickstarter, you can pick up your copy at the show. Also, Daryl will be tabling with me! Stop by and check out her other great Missy books.

I’ll be publishing two titles in April, just in time for MoCCA Fest. You can preorder them until April 6 on Kickstarter!

As usual, I’m publishing my annual small press zine, but the focus has changed a bit. I’ve shifted from just covering micro-presses to widely cover small press comics, especially minicomics. So I changed the title from the Micro-Press Yearbook to The Tiny Report. There is still a Micro-Press Yearbook section, with a fold-out chart, but there are also lot of minicomic reviews and interviews with artists.

I’m not sure what the Tiny Report will become, and to be honest I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be doing it. (I’m forty, and I have a very demanding job! This gets harder every year.) The plan is to make the Tiny Report a home for all my research and thoughts on small press comics—this is a subject I want to write seriously about. And with each issue I’ll continue to invite other writers to contribute, because I think it makes for a better zine. (And it also makes filling an issue much easier. I’m a slow writer.)

About this issue: #5! It’s big. At least 60 pages! Check out this cover by Zack Soto. Perhaps you’ve noticed that I always ask micro-publishers to do the covers. (To date: Chuck Forsman, Box Brown, J.T. Yost, Kevin Czap, and now Zack.)

We will have two main features. I wrote a profile about Eleanor Davis’s early minicomics, did a short interview with her, and created a near complete bibliography of her self-published work.

It’s been a long year since my last update (!) but I hope I can make up for it with some exciting news.

First off, I’ve been somewhat absent from the micro-press world because I’ve been very present in the maxi-press world. Since February, I’ve been a full-time associate editor at First Second. I’ve been putting in some long hours at the office, and my side projects have taken a hit. (I’m 100% happy with this bargain.)

BUT! I still wanted to release two publications this spring. And one of those books was to be authored by ME, the world’s slowest cartoonist. (No really, I’m the one! Hi!) It’s been quite a while since I put out a comic of my own. It took a lot of long nights, but I was able to put it together right before MoCCA.

The second comics is by my friend Colin Lidston, who I first met when he wandered into Desert Island a few years ago. He’s a painter, and he was trying to learn how to be a cartoonist. I’m happy to have published his first comic.

With that, I’ll introduce you to the new books!

Twin Bed is a comic about a relationship, as told through a series of scenes from a small bed in a tiny New York apartment. The perspective never changes. (if you’ve read Richard McQuire’s Here, it’s a similar idea–but time only moves forward at a natural pace.)

The comic itself looks like a twin bed: it’s nested in a slipcase that resembles blankets. To open the book, you must pull the covers of the bed. I actually conceived of the packing first, and built the story later.

(I plan to talk a little more about Twin Bed in the future. It has an unusual construction that’s key to the concept of the book.)

The Age of Elves is a comic about the souls of geeks. It follows the story of Sarah Loeb, a teenager with aspirations of being a fantasy illustrator. Issue one introduces us to Sarah and her friends on a typical day in the summer of 2000. Pizza is consumed, RPG adventures are had, and there’s a particularly heated debate about what’s really in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction.

Both of the books are available in the shop. I also did a short and successful Kickstarter. (Check out the cool video!) I’ll be bringing these to a few conventions this year (SPX, Columbus Crossroads, etc.). And I’ll be getting started on the 2015 Micro-Press Yearbook soon. I’m not sure what my next big project is, but I have some ideas.

The Micro-Press Yearbook 2014 is available for pre-order through this quick and cheap Kickstarter campaign. With a cover by Box Brown and contributions from Whit Taylor, Robert Kirby, Cadu França, and Jonathan Rotsztain. It’s in full color this time, and with a lot more content! Just $7, which includes shipping.

Blink and you’ll miss it! I’m only doing pre-orders for a week and a half, and then I’ll have a release party at Desert Island.

Last weekend I looked at my calendar and FREAKED OUT, because I had gone overboard applying for festivals and committing to events. I had accidentally committed to six comics events over the next seven weeks. When I complained on Facebook, Box Brown pointed out that what I actually had done was booked a tour! So here’s the Tiny Report / Paper Rocket Accidental Spring Tour 2015.

March 28-29: RIPEin Providence, RI
Micro-Press and distro panel at 1pm on the 29th